Christina had received the finest education when it came to social interactions and could easily navigate the young noble and political circles of the capital, but in this place where no one, save for a few powerful Masters and one annoying brat, knew her identity, she found herself unconsciously relaxing her guard and speaking more freely.
It was with that kind of mentality, as well as great thankfulness, that the Rockwell Kingdom's youngest princess actually managed to get along swimmingly with Eris Newton.
This young girl, who Christina quickly learned was the daughter of the local Baron, was at first a bit reserved, but it didn't take Eris long to open up and become quite chatty, especially when it came to showing her around her home.
As she was dragged around, Christina found herself liking Eris more and more, not only because she treated her equally, without any kind of reserve, but also because despite clearly being in a terrible situation personally, Eris remained a well of positivity and joy.
Christina's new Sworn Sister gave off a kind of vibrancy which she had never encountered before in the always formal and stuffy settings of her day-to-day life.
Of course, there was some worry on the princess' part that if her new friend found out who she really was, everything would change; but for now, Christina decided to push such concerns aside and enjoy the moment.
Arriving at what appeared to be a large outdoor kitchen, Eris used her one remaining hand to point to the various large pots and said, "This is where we've been cooking up everyone's meals these past few days! Lucas came up with this idea while he was sorting out our food supplies!"
If there was one thing that made Christina feel a bit awkward regarding her new Sworn Sister, it was that Eris seemed to be completely enamoured with that little bastard named Lucas, bringing him up whenever she could and regaling her with tales of his brilliance.
To be fair, some of these stories were indeed quite impressive in Christina's opinion, and she begrudgingly had to admit that Lucas was far from an ordinary 10-year-old boy; of course, that didn't change the face that she still wanted to punch his lights out.
On top of everything that boy had done to her already, he had even caused her to show such a shameful appearance in front of her idol and future Master!
The nerve!
However, seeing how Lucas was the object of her new friend's admiration, Christina made sure not to mention what had happened between the two of them and was even willing to take a step back and forgive him with just 100 punches.
That brat should thank my new Sworn Sister! Christina thought to herself as she kept up a smile and listened to Eris go on and on about how smart her Little Brother Lucas was, and how all the adults couldn't stop praising him.
Just as Christina was starting to tune out Eris' continued babbling about her brilliant little brother, an authoritative voice called out to them, "Tina, Eris, come with me!"
When the two girls turned their heads, they were met with the sight of Celestina Balfour smiling while dragging a very reluctantly looking little boy by his collar.
This scene brought diametrically opposite expressions to the two girls' faces, one smiling widely, thinking that justice had come for her enemy, while the other was filled with indignation at the treatment her precious brother was being subjected to.
However, neither Christina nor Eris had time to say anything before the red-headed General strode off.
Left with no other choice, the girls quickly chased after Celestina as the nearby crowd watched on curiously.
A short while later, 1 adult and 3 children arrived at an open space far outside the Manor with no one else around. Only then did Celestina finally let go of Lucas as she was certain he would no longer try to escape.
Sure enough, the young boy just stood there, knowing that any attempt to flee would be futile. Whatever plan his Master had come up with, it was his duty as her Disciple to follow along.
Besides, his Master had promised him he wouldn't die… yet.
"Eris, come over here," Celestina ordered before pushing Lucas out into the clearing.
"Yes, Master!" Eris obediently nodded and tried to step out, but before she could even lift her foot, she felt a tight squeeze on her hand, drawing her attention to her side.
With a dumbfounded look on her face, Christina stared at her new Sworn Sister and stuttered, "Y-You are Aunty Celestina's Disciple, too?"
It wasn't until this moment that Christina recalled that Lucas had told her that he and his 'big sister' had become Marquess Balfour's True Disciples. She hadn't forgotten this fact, as it had made a huge impact on her, but all this time she had thought Lucas was talking about some biological big sister, not Eris who, as far as she could tell, had no blood ties with him.
That boy lied! He tricked me! Christina screamed inside, completely ignoring the fact that it was all just her misunderstanding in this case rather than Lucas intentionally deceiving her.
It was clear now that Christina had formed an unconscious bias against the boy, one that would clearly take some time to resolve.
Unfortunately for Christina, the misunderstandings didn't stop there as Eris also formed one at that moment and blurted out, "Oooh! So, you're Master's Disciple as well? That's wonderful! Does that mean you're my and Lucas' Senior Sister Disciple? Should I call you Big Sister Tina? No no, it should be Senior Sister Tina, right?"
The innocent words and excited looks she was getting from Eris were like daggers being driven into Christina's heart. Worse than that, however, was that she understood a horrible, horrible truth in this moment.
The hierarchy among Disciples of the same Master is incredibly strict, which means that even if I become Aunty Celestina's Disciple now, I'll be the Junior Sister! Me, a princess, having to call that brat Senior Brother!?
It took all of Christina's willpower to not scream out loud right then, though her smile, which was normally so enchanting and beautiful, now looked incredibly ugly.
With no one else she could blame, Christina turned her eyes towards Lucas and glared fiercely at him, like she wanted to drink his blood and gnaw on his bones.
1,000! No 10,000 punches! Even if he's Eris' little brother, I must punch him 10,000 times to sooth my hate!
Eris wasn't done, however, and continued to dig a deeper pit as she remained blissfully unaware of the murderous thoughts of her new Sworn Sister, calling out joyfully to her little brother, "Lucas! Why are you just standing there with your head in your hands? Don't you know how rude you're being? Come over here and greet your Senior Sister, quickly!"
If there was a hole nearby big enough, Lucas would have crawled inside and buried himself, hoping that by the time he emerged, the dreadful storm blowing outside would have passed. Unfortunately for him, there was no such opportunity to escape his fate today.
While Celestina maintained a stoic look on her face, inside she was rolling around, laughing her head off. The reactions of Lucas and Eris greatly reminded her of Allina and Vanessa from back when they were young. It always brought a smile to her face remembering those early days with the two young girls.
Still, Celestina had an objective here beyond watching her First Disciple squirm, so she quickly coughed and brought the children's attention back to her, "Ahem, Eris, Tina is not my Disciple."
"Ah…" Eris gawked for a moment before spinning around and lowering her head awkwardly, "I'm sorry, Big Sister Tina. I jumped to conclusions."
"It's… It's fine…" Christina said dispiritedly, unable to fully conceal the pain she felt when she was once again rejected by her desired Master.
At this point, Christina was truly beginning to wonder if Marquess Balfour hated her.
Whenever they met, and she asked Celestina to take her as a Disciple, the latter would always flatly refuse. On top of that, Celestina wouldn't even teach her casually, which was completely contrary to all the stories Christina had heard about the Balfour Marquess.
Celestina Balfour's enthusiasm for training the younger generation was famous throughout the Rockwell Kingdom, to the point that more than 30% of all Spirit Initiates had received instruction from her at some point. Yet for some reason, Celestina had steadfastly rejected her. It nearly brought a tear to Christina's eye as she began to wallow in self-pity and despair.
"However," suddenly, Celestina Balfour spoke up again, "I am willing to give her a chance to become my Disciple today."
The instant these words were spoke, it was like lightning struck Christina, jolting her out of her spiraling depression and lifting her to heights she had never experienced before.
Light returned to her eyes and a fervent determination burned within her soul. In that moment, Tina swore that no matter how arduous the trial or dangerous the task asked of her was, she would overcome it to seize her goal!
Lifting her head, Christina stared directly into her chosen Master's eyes and asked fervently, "What must I do?"
Without any change in expression, Celestina replied, "It's simple. If you wish to be my Disciple, you must prove yourself worthy. Only one with the necessary strength of will can study under me, so I will test you right now."
Pausing here for a moment, Celestina let her words sink in before making a shocking declaration, "I want you to fight Lucas, right here, right now, holding nothing back. What say you?"